South-North Development Monitor (SUNS)
#6892 Friday 26 March 2010
NEW HOUSING IN ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS CONDEMNED
By Kanaga Raja, Geneva, 25 March 2010
The United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday condemned the Israeli
announcement on the construction of 120 new housing units in the Bitar Elite settlement,
and 1,600 new housing units for new settlers in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of
Ramat Shlomo.
The Council called upon the Government of Israel to immediately reverse its decision
which it said would further undermine and jeopardize the ongoing efforts by the
international community to reach a final settlement compliant with international
legitimacy, including the relevant United Nations resolutions.
Apart from the adoption of the resolution on Israeli settlements, the Council also adopted,
all of them by vote, resolutions on grave human rights violations in Palestine, on human
rights in occupied Syrian Golan, and on the right of the Palestinian people to selfdetermination.
In the resolution on grave human rights violations in Palestine, the Council strongly
condemned the Israeli military attacks and operations in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, particularly the recent ones in the occupied Gaza Strip, which have resulted in
the killing and injury of thousands of Palestinian civilians, including a large number of
women and children.
It demanded that the occupying Power, Israel, stop the targeting of civilians and the
systematic destruction of the cultural heritage of the Palestinian people, in addition to the
destruction of public and private properties, as laid down in the Fourth Geneva
Convention.
In a resolution on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East
Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, adopted by 46 votes in favour, one against
(the United States), and no abstentions, the Council also deplored the recent Israeli
announcements of the construction of new housing units for Israeli settlers in and around
occupied East Jerusalem, as they undermine the peace process and the creation of a
contiguous, sovereign and independent Palestinian State, and are in violation of
international law and Israeli pledges at the Annapolis Peace Conference of 27 November
2007.
The Council expressed its grave concern at the continuing Israeli settlement and related
activities, in violation of international law, including the expansion of settlements, the
expropriation of land, the demolition of houses, the confiscation and destruction of
property, the expulsion of Palestinians and the construction of bypass roads, which
change the physical character and demographic composition of the occupied territories,
including East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan, and constitute a violation of the Fourth
Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12
August 1949, and in particular article 49 of that Convention.
It recalled that settlements are a major obstacle to the establishment of a just and
comprehensive peace and to the creation of an independent, viable, sovereign and
democratic Palestinian State.
It further expressed its grave concern at the planned Israeli settlement construction in the
vicinity of the Adam settlements in the occupied West Bank, which constitutes a new
settlement block, and at the increasing number of newly built structures, in 2008 and
2009, amounting to several thousand, including a large number of permanent buildings
and structures, which undermine the efforts of the international community to advance
the Middle East peace process.
The Council also expressed its grave concern at the following:
-- The so-called E-1 plan aimed at expanding the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim and
building the wall around it, thereby further disconnecting occupied East Jerusalem from
the northern and southern parts of the West Bank and isolating its Palestinian population;
-- The implications for the final status negotiations of Israel's announcement that it will
retain the major settlement blocks in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including
settlements located in the Jordan Valley;
-- The expansion of Israeli settlements and the construction of new ones on the Occupied
Palestinian Territory rendered inaccessible behind the wall, which create a fait accompli
on the ground that could well be permanent and would in that case be tantamount to de
facto annexation;
-- The Israeli decision to establish and operate a tramway between West Jerusalem and
the Israeli settlement of Pisgat Zeev, which is in clear violation of international law and
relevant United Nations resolutions;
-- The continued closures of land within the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the
restriction of the freedom of movement of people and goods, including the repeated
closure of the crossing points of the Gaza Strip, which have created an extremely
precarious humanitarian situation for the civilian population as well as impaired the
economic and social rights of the Palestinian people;
-- The continued construction, contrary to international law, of the wall inside the
Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem; and
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-- The latest Israeli plan to demolish hundreds of houses in occupied East Jerusalem,
including its decision to demolish more than 88 houses in the Al-Bustan neighbourhood
of Silwan, which would result in the displacement of more than 2,000 Palestinian
residents of East Jerusalem, in addition to the Israeli decision to evacuate Palestinian
families from their houses in the Al-Sheikh Jarrah area of East Jerusalem and to replace
them by Israeli settlers.
The Council urged Israel, the occupying Power: to reverse the settlement policy in the
occupied territories, including East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan, and, as a first step
towards their dismantlement, to stop immediately the expansion of the existing
settlements, including "natural growth" and related activities including in East Jerusalem;
and to prevent any new installation of settlers in the occupied territories, including in East
Jerusalem.
The Council also urged the full implementation of the Access and Movement Agreement
of 15 November 2005, particularly the urgent reopening of Rafah and Karni crossings,
which is crucial to ensuring the passage of foodstuffs and essential supplies, as well as
the access of the United Nations agencies to and within the Occupied Palestinian
Territory.
It called upon Israel to take and implement serious measures, including confiscation of
arms and enforcement of criminal sanctions, with the aim of preventing acts of violence
by Israeli settlers, and other measures to guarantee the safety and protection of the
Palestinian civilians and Palestinian properties in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
including East Jerusalem.
In a resolution on the grave human rights violations by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, including East Jerusalem (A/HRC/13/L. 29), the Council demanded that the
occupying Power, Israel, end its occupation of the Palestinian land occupied since 1967,
and that it respect its commitments within the peace process towards the establishment of
the independent sovereign Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living in
peace and security with all its neighbours.
The resolution was adopted by a vote of 31 in favour, nine against (Belgium, France,
Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, United Kingdom, and the United States),
and seven abstentions (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Japan, Republic
of Korea, Slovenia and the Ukraine).
In the resolution, the Council strongly condemned the Israeli military attacks and
operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the recent ones in the
occupied Gaza Strip, which have resulted in the killing and injury of thousands of
Palestinian civilians, including a large number of women and children.
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It demanded that the occupying Power, Israel, stop the targeting of civilians and the
systematic destruction of the cultural heritage of the Palestinian people, in addition to the
destruction of public and private properties, as laid down in the Fourth Geneva
Convention.
It also condemned the disrespect for religious and cultural rights provided for in core
human rights instruments and humanitarian law by the occupying Power, Israel, in the
occupied Palestinian territories, including its recent announcement that it would add alHaram al Ibrahimi in Hebron and Bilal Mosque ("Tomb of Rachel") in Bethlehem and
the walls of the old city of Jerusalem to its list of Israeli national heritage sites.
The Council further demanded that Israel, the occupying Power, respect the religious and
cultural rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in occupied East
Jerusalem, as provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the core
international human rights instruments, the Hague Conventions and the Geneva
Conventions, and that it allow Palestinian citizens and worshippers unhindered access to
their properties and religious sites therein.
It expressed its grave concern at the excavation of ancient tombs and removal of
hundreds of human remains from part of the historic Ma'man Allah (Mamila) Cemetery
in the holy city of Jerusalem in order to construct a "museum of tolerance", and called
upon the Government of Israel to immediately desist from such illegal activities therein.
The Council further demanded that Israel, the occupying Power, immediately cease all
diggings and excavation works beneath and around Al-Aqsa mosque compound and other
religious sites in the old city of Jerusalem, and refrain from any act that may endanger the
structure or foundations or change the nature of the holy sites, both Islamic and Christian,
in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in and around Jerusalem.
It called for the immediate international protection for the Palestinian people in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory, in compliance with international human rights and
humanitarian law, both applicable in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East
Jerusalem. It also called for the immediate cessation of all Israeli military attacks and
operations throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The Council demanded that the occupying Power, Israel, release Palestinian prisoners
and detainees including women, children and members of the Palestinian Legislative
Council; and called upon the occupying Power, Israel, to lift checkpoints and open all
crossing points and borders according to relevant international agreements.
It further demanded that Israel, the occupying Power, immediately lift the siege imposed
on the occupied Gaza Strip, and that it open all borders and crossing points, and allow the
free access of fuel, humanitarian needs and medicine in addition to all necessary
materials and equipment needed for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Gaza as
agreed upon at the International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Economy for
the Reconstruction of Gaza, held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on 2 March 2009.
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In a resolution on human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan (A/HRC/13/L. 2), the
Council called upon Israel, the occupying Power, to comply with the relevant resolutions
of the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Human Rights Council, in
particular Security Council resolution 497 (1981), in which the Council decided, inter
alia, that the decision of Israel to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the
occupied Syrian Golan is null and void and without international legal effect, and
demanded that Israel rescind forthwith its decision.
The resolution was adopted with 31 votes in favour, one against (the United States) and
15 abstentions.
The resolution also called upon Israel to desist from its continuous building of
settlements and from changing the physical character, demographic composition,
institutional structure and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan, and emphasized that
the displaced persons of the population of the occupied Syrian Golan must be allowed to
return to their homes and to recover their property.
It further called upon Israel to desist from imposing Israeli citizenship and Israeli identity
cards on the Syrian citizens in the occupied Syrian Golan, and to desist from its
repressive measures against them and from all other practices that obstruct the enjoyment
of their fundamental rights and their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights,
some of which are mentioned in the report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli
Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the
Occupied Territories.
The resolution also called upon Israel to release immediately the Syrian detainees in
Israeli prisons, some of whom have been detained for more than 24 years, and called on
Israel to treat them in conformity with international humanitarian law.
In a resolution on the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination (A/HRC/13/L.
27), adopted by a vote of 45 in favour, one against (the United States) and no abstentions,
the Council reaffirmed the inalienable, permanent and unqualified right of the Palestinian
people to self-determination, including their right to live in freedom, justice and dignity
and to establish their sovereign, independent, democratic and viable contiguous State.
It also reaffirmed its support for the solution of two States, Palestine and Israel, living
side by side in peace and security, and stressed the need for respect for and preservation
of the territorial unity, contiguity and integrity of all of the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, including East Jerusalem.
The Council urged all Member States and relevant bodies of the United Nations system to
support and assist the Palestinian people in the early realization of their right to selfdetermination.
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On Thursday morning, the Council adopted a resolution on the follow-up to the
Goldstone report.
In a resolution on the follow-up to the report of the UN Independent International FactFinding Mission on the Gaza conflict (A/HRC/13/L. 30), the Council reiterated its call
upon all concerned parties, including the United Nations bodies, to ensure their
implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the United Nations
Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza conflict, in accordance with
their respective mandates.
The resolution was adopted by a vote of 29 in favour, six against (Hungary, Italy,
Netherlands, Slovakia, Ukraine and the United States), and 11 abstentions.
In the resolution, the Council reiterated the call by the General Assembly upon the
Government of Israel to conduct investigations that are independent, credible and in
conformity with international standards into the serious violations of international
humanitarian and international human rights law reported by the Fact-Finding Mission,
with a view to ensuring accountability and justice.
It also reiterated the urging by the General Assembly for the conduct by the Palestinian
side of investigations that are independent, credible and in conformity with international
standards into the serious violations of international humanitarian and international
human rights law reported by the Fact-Finding Mission, with a view to ensuring
accountability and justice.
The Council called upon the High Commissioner to explore and determine the
appropriate modalities for the establishment of an escrow fund for the provision of
reparations to the Palestinians who suffered loss and damage as a result of unlawful acts
attributable to the State of Israel during the military operations conducted from December
2008 to January 2009.
It decided to establish a committee of independent experts in international humanitarian
and human rights laws to monitor and assess any domestic, legal or other proceedings
undertaken by both the Government of Israel and the Palestinian side, in the light of
General Assembly resolution 64/254, including the independence, effectiveness,
genuineness of these investigations and their conformity with international standards.
It requested the High Commissioner to appoint the members of the committee of
independent experts and to provide them with all the administrative, technical and
logistical assistance required to enable them to fulfil their mandate promptly and
efficiently; and for the committee of independent experts to present its report to the
Council at its fifteenth session.
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